


little by little (i’m giving in)

by bytheseas



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 09:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15991985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bytheseas/pseuds/bytheseas
Summary: Three times Will knocks on Paul’s door somewhere near midnight and one time Paul returns the favor.





	little by little (i’m giving in)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this little fic back in the winter, before they got together. My love for #horita & their storyline up until recently took me by surprise. It's just been sitting in my docs, but I decided to post it today, for myself if not for anyone else -- a little piece of au horita happiness in these hard times.

The first time it happens, Paul has to fight the urge to smack him.

 

Will’s standing at his door and he’s asking if he has eggs, because he’s trying to make a cake and he forgot about eggs and it’s too late to go to the store.  He has the most innocent look on his face as if it isn’t the lamest excuse in the world. 

 

“So you’re making a cake,” Paul looks down at his watch, then up, eyebrows raised.  “-at 11:48 at night.”

 

“Yeah,”  Will’s eyes start sparkling in that mischievous way that’s becoming so familiar, like he  _ knows _ how utterly ridiculous all of this is but he doesn’t care. “I was just, um, in the mood to bake.”  

 

“Okay, sure.”

 

Paul rolls his eyes but he lets WIll in and makes his way down to the kitchen to finds a carton of eggs.  By the time he’s back out, Will’s sitting on his couch. Paul forgot he left the TV on, but Will is turning the volume up and making himself at home, leaning back into the pillows and folding his legs up onto the couch.  “I didn’t know you watched original Star Trek! I watched this all the time in Memphis.”

 

Things like this slip out every once in a while and remind Paul that Will’s life has been years of repression and confusion and something in his heart softens, just a little. 

 

He sits down next to Will on the couch. Will scoots a little closer to him so they’re almost touching but  _ not quite _ , and Paul pretends he doesn’t want to break the distance. He’s  guessing the eggs aren’t going to be used tonight. “Oh yeah?”

 

“Susan didn’t want me to -- I didn’t really, um, get out much, so I watched a lot of tv.  I kind of developed a minor obsession with this show.” 

 

“I had no idea you were a such a nerd, Will Horton.” Paul grins and Will shoves him in the arm, but he’s grinning.  

 

Will stays for the rest of the episode and one after that until Paul tells him he has to go to bed because he actually has to be a functioning human in the morning. Will just laughs and gives him a hug that lasts just a little longer than is socially acceptable for two people who are just friends, and then he’s gone. 

 

He doesn’t take any eggs with him when he goes.

 

~~~

 

The second time it happens, Will’s a little drunk. 

 

It’s nearly midnight and Paul worked all day on a case and he’s just so tired of people but he opens the door anyway, because it’s  _ Will _ and ignoring him is apparently not something Paul is capable of. 

 

“I’m a little bit drunk,” Will mumbles, and Paul’s thinking:  _ thank you, captain obvious. _ Will’s swaying a bit on his feet and Paul can smell the alcohol on his breath. 

 

He raises his eyebrows. “Yeah, I can see that.”  

 

They just stand there looking at each other for a moment, and just as Paul’s wondering what exactly Will came here for and why he keeps coming to him of all people, Will wraps his arms around him in a clumsy hug.  He tucks his chin into Paul’s shoulder and leans most of his body weight forward, onto him. “I missed you. You smell….really good.” there’s soft blond hair on his cheek and Will’s fingers are so warm, ghosting up and down his back in feather light touches — it’s all more than a little overwhelming, but then Will lets go of him and collapses onto Paul’s couch like it’s his. He mutters something that sounds a lot like “ _ love you _ ” and five minutes later he’s dead to the world, fast asleep. 

 

Paul sits in front of the couch and he keeps looking back at Will and wondering how exactly this new Will Horton lodged himself so firmly into his life and found a place in his heart. He falls asleep there after a bit, leaned up on the couch, his head just next to Will’s.  

 

Will’s gone in the morning but there’s a note on his coffee table that says “thanks” complete with a little heart of all things, and if Paul smiles way too wide at the sight of it there’s no one watching to see it. 

 

~~~

 

The third time Paul barely hears it and maybe he only caught it because he was listening for it, but he doesn’t want to think about that.  It’s light and hesitant and wholly unlike the bold knocks he’s gotten used to.

 

He opens the door wider and Will brushes inside, sliding onto the floor and leaning against the wall.  Will’s expression is panicked and stressed and the words come out in a rush: “I did something really dumb today.”

 

Paul takes the space next to him. “Whatever it is, I’ll help you figure out what to do.” 

 

They’ve become a weird sort of team since that day in the crypt.  There was a time not so long ago when all Paul wanted was for this resurrected Will Horton to be as far away from him as possible. It’s getting harder and harder to remember. 

 

“I called Susan.”

 

“How did that go?”

 

“Yeah. It, uh — it didn’t go well,” Will sighs.  “I haven’t done it in such a long time. I shouldn’t have. She was begging me to come back, and I know it’s sick, but there’s a part of me that wanted to go,”  he pauses, and stares blankly ahead. “I couldn’t tell Marlena. I know she’s understand but she would still be disappointed. I’m just kind of sick of disappointing people.  I can’t remember my husband. I can’t remember my friends. I can’t remember my own daughter. I just feel like I’m none of the things people want me to be. Usually I don’t care about what Will Horton was before I became him again, but sometimes..sometimes it gets to me.”  He falls silent for a moment and then lets out an unconvincing chuckle. “Usually I’m better at repressing this shit.”

 

Silence falls between them for a moment, and Paul’s left wondering once again why Will keeps coming to him, of all people.  Will trusts him so completely and the fact that he has any trust to give after what he’s been through is nothing short of remarkable. It’s not lost on Paul. 

 

“You’re doing okay, Will.  You can’t do anything about what you can and can’t remember:  all you can do is live your life how you want to live it, and be who you want to be.  What other people want isn’t important.”

 

It’s like those words give Will the permission to let go because his face calms almost immediately, and he lets out a breath he’d been holding. “Okay. Yeah. You’re right. Thanks.”  He stretches his legs out in front of him. “Sometimes I feel like I just fell from one crazy life into another. My original flavor family is almost as insane as the fake one, and this town is nuts.”

 

Paul just nods -- he’s not going to argue with that.  Will goes on. 

 

“Like sometimes I compare the two in my mind and I’m not sure there’s a winner.  Yeah, Susan convinced me I was an entirely different person and fucked me up mentally, but then I come here and within a period of months my mom reenacts my almost death, and my grandfather holds me at gunpoint and ties me up in a mausoleum.  This kind of shit  _ does not happen _ to normal people.”

 

Paul laughs then, because even though it shouldn’t be funny, there’s something about the way Will doesn’t seem upset anymore, just filled with some kind of righteous indignation at the world for bringing all of this craziness upon him -- it’s just too much. 

 

Will stares at him in disbelief, but there’s a smile hiding somewhere behind it. “Paul. Why are you  _ laughing _ ? It’s not funny!”

 

“Your life is just...so ridiculous.  Both of your lives. You have to admit it’s a little funny.”

 

“I most definitely do not,” Will’s trying and failing to keep up his stern expression.  “I can’t believe you’re laughing at the misfortunes of an amnesiac. It’s a good thing you’re cute when you laugh.” 

 

There was a time not so long ago when he told Will that comments like these were flattering. It’s getting harder and harder to pretend that that’s the extent of it. 

 

Paul leans back, and his tone turns to teasing. “Hey, at least here you can admit to it when you’re attracted to people. The Horton life isn’t completely lacking in positives.”  

 

Will laughs, free and easy, and clearly delighted that Paul brought this up.  “That is definitely an upside.” He takes one of Paul’s hands and laces their fingers together “Speaking of, I told you I’d back off and I meant it, but I’m totally going to take advantage of you and hold your hand for a minute. Please don’t judge me too much for it.” Will rubs idle circles on the back of Paul’s hand with his thumb, around and around, sending little sparks up and down Paul’s arm. Paul lets out a little pleased hum, closes his eyes and lets the minutes pass. 

 

There’s a part of him that wants so badly lean into this and see what it could be. 

 

But then the fact that all of this is so damn messy gets the best of him, and he opens his eyes.  Sonny would be so hurt, and there’s a part of Paul that still cares about that, even though he really shouldn’t. There’s also the fact that none of this can last anyway, because one day Will will wake up and remember and all of this will fall away.  He untangles their hands and pats Will’s leg in a way that he hopes is reassuring and not dismissive before he gets to his feet. “I need to go get some sleep if I’m going to get any work done tomorrow. Are you going to be okay?”

 

Disappointment flashes on Will’s face for a moment, but then he hides it.  He nods and stands up. “I’ll be okay as long as you’re around.” 

 

He says it so easily, like to him it’s the plain and simple truth, and Paul doesn’t doubt that he means it. This honest, blunt boy is something else. 

 

Paul opens the door, and smiles, slow and gentle. “Goodnight, Will.” 

 

Will darts forward and kissed him on the cheek, and then he’s out the door. “Goodnight, Paul. Sleep tight!”

 

~~~

 

It’s nearly midnight and Paul can’t sleep.  He lies there, on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.  There are words playing through his mind that won’t go away:

 

There’s his own words to his father, spoken after the craziness of the crypt— words he wouldn’t share with Will himself. “ _ We got through it together _ .  _ It’s been a long time since I got through anything with anyone else.” _

 

And then, there’s Will’s voice:  _ “You deserve someone who will always put you first.” _

 

The thing is, he’s Will’s first choice every time. And he’s not sure when exactly that became true both ways,  but it has. It happened somewhere between music discoveries and detective work — somewhere among late nights and other moments that blend together but all add up to the fact that Will Horton is important to him in ways he doesn’t quite understand just yet.  And as much as giving into exploring what that could mean scares him, he can’t find it within himself to ignore it anymore. 

 

There’s this feeling he gets whenever Will touches him, this need for  _ more _ , and he’s tired of ignoring that too. 

 

Before he has a chance to second guess himself he’s getting up and walking down the hall, and knocking on Will’s door, because even though he knows it’s midnight he just has to see him,  _ right now.  _  Will opens the door and it’s obvious that Paul woke him up because his hair is all tousled from sleep and he’s blinking at him owlishly.  All those thoughts run through Paul’s mind: this is such a bad idea, this can’t last— he shouldn’t be giving into something that will eventually fade away. But Will smiles at him like he’s the best thing in the whole world and Paul can’t even stop himself from grabbing the front of his shirt and dragging him forward and kissing him. Will slides his hand to the back of Paul’s neck and lets out a pleased hum, pressing closer. 

 

When they pull apart minutes later, Will’s smirking and his eyes are sparkling. “I have a confession to make.”

 

“Mmm?” Paul kisses his neck and Will’s breath hitches. 

 

“I was never going to make a cake.”

 

Paul pulls back a little, and raises his eyebrows.  

 

“I also didn’t move here because it was a great bargain.” 

 

Will’s beaming, like he’s so proud of himself, and he’s such a pain in the ass, but his obvious glee only makes Paul feel more fond, and  _ yeah _ , wow, he has a problem. 

 

“Just stop talking,”  Paul mutters, and he kisses Will, then, because now that he’s done it twice he’s officially done resisting the urge. 

 

Paul doesn’t know where this will go or how long it will last and it could all come crashing down tomorrow, but for now, everything feels right, and that’s enough. 


End file.
